In its opinion in McCullen
v. Coakley, the First Circuit rejected a First Amendment challenge to a Massachusetts statute creating
a fixed thirty-five-foot buffer zone around the entrances, exits, and driveways
of abortion clinics. The court had
previously upheld a facial
challenge. In this as-applied challenge,
the First Circuit again rejected the challenge, affirming the district court.

The 32 page opinion, written by Judge Bruce Seyla, a Reagan appointee recognized for his "linguistic talent," is noteworthy for its vocabulary. For example, Seyla writes that the plaintiffs "advance
a salmagundi of arguments, old and new, some of which are couched in a creative
recalibration of First Amendment principles."

impressionistic argument, though ingenious, elevates hope over reason. The
propositions for which the plaintiffs cite those cases are no more than
conventional First Amendment principles recited by the Supreme Court in the
context of factual scenarios far different than the scenario at issue here.

Not surprisingly, the opinion rejected the plaintiffs' "Rumpelstiltskin-like effort to turn straw into gold." The court concluded that the "Massachusetts statute at issue here is a content-neutral, narrowly tailored
time- place-manner regulation that protects the rights of prospective patients
and clinic employees without offending the First Amendment rights of others."